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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC., a Delaware corporation, INTERDIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation, IPR LICENSING, INC., a Delaware corporation, and INTERDIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC., a Delaware corporation, v. Plaintiffs and Counterclaim Defendants, ZTE CORPORATION, a Chinese corporation, and ZTE (USA) INC., a New Jersey corporation, Defendants and Counterclaim Plaintiffs. INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC., a Delaware corporation, INTERDIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation, IPR LICENSING, INC., a Delaware corporation, and INTERDIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC., a Delaware corporation, v. Plaintiffs and Counterclaim Defendants, NOKIA CORPORATION, NOKIA, INC., AND MICROSOFT MOBILE OY, Defendants and Counterclaim Plaintiffs. Civil Action No.: 1:13-cv-00009-RGA Civil Action No.: 1: 13-cv-00010-RGA MEMORANDUM OPINION I I r

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Page 1: IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT INTERDIGITAL ...delawareintellectualproperty.foxrothschild.com/wp... · 3/6/2015  · briefs regarding certain terms in the '244 patent. (DJ. 375)

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF DELAWARE

INTERDIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC., a Delaware corporation, INTERDIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation, IPR LICENSING, INC., a Delaware corporation, and INTERDIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC., a Delaware corporation,

v.

Plaintiffs and Counterclaim Defendants,

ZTE CORPORATION, a Chinese corporation, and ZTE (USA) INC., a New Jersey corporation,

Defendants and Counterclaim Plaintiffs.

INTERDIGIT AL COMMUNICATIONS, INC., a Delaware corporation, INTERDIGITAL TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION, a Delaware corporation, IPR LICENSING, INC., a Delaware corporation, and INTERDIGITAL HOLDINGS, INC., a Delaware corporation,

v.

Plaintiffs and Counterclaim Defendants,

NOKIA CORPORATION, NOKIA, INC., AND MICROSOFT MOBILE OY,

Defendants and Counterclaim Plaintiffs.

Civil Action No.: 1 :13-cv-00009-RGA

Civil Action No.: 1: 13-cv-00010-RGA

MEMORANDUM OPINION

I I r

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Neal C. Belgam, Esq., Smith, Katzenstein & Jenkins, Wilmington, DE; Maximilian A. Grant, Esq., Bert C. Reiser, Esq., Jonathan D. Link, Esq., Latham & Watkins LLP, Washington D.C.; Ron E. Schulman, Esq., Latham & Watkins LLP, Menlo Park, CA; Julie M. Holloway, Esq. (argued), Latham & Watkins LLP, San Francisco, CA; David S. Steuer, Esq., Michael B. Levin, Esq., Maura L. Rees, Esq., Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto, CA, attorneys for Plaintiffs InterDigital Communications, Inc., InterDigital Technology Corporation, IPR Licensing, Inc., and InterDigital Holdings, Inc.

Kelly E. Farnan, Esq., Travis S. Hunter, Esq., Richards, Layton & Finger, Wilmington, DE; Ralph J. Gabric, Esq., Charles M. McMahon, Esq. (argued), Mircea A. Tipescu, Esq., Brian A. Jones, Esq., Hersh H. Mehta, Esq., Brinks, Gilson, & Lione, Chicago, IL; Jay H. Reiziss, Esq., Brinks, Gilson, & Lione, Washington D.C., attorneys for Defendants ZTE Corporation and ZTE (USA) Inc.

Jack B. Blumenfeld, Esq., Rodger D. Smith II, Esq., Jeremy A. Tigan, Esq., Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP, Wilmington, DE; Richard A. Cederoth, Esq., Sidley Austin LLP, Chicago, IL; Brian R. Nester, Esq., Joseph A. Micallef, Esq. (argued), Sidley Austin LLP, Washington, DC; Dan K. Webb, Esq., Raymond C. Perkins, Esq., Kevin E. Warner, Esq., Winston & Strawn LLP, Chicago, IL; David A. Frist, Esq., Alston & Bird, Atlanta, GA, attorneys for Defendants Nokia Corporation, Nokia, Inc. and Microsoft Microsoft Mobile Oy.

March _h_, 2015

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Pending before this Court is the issue of claim construction of various disputed terms

found in U.S. Patent Nos. 8,380,244 ("the '244 patent") and 7,941, 151 ("the '151 patent"). The

Court has considered the Parties' Joint Claim Construction Briefs. (D.I. 407 & 485). The Court

heard oral argument on February 27, 2015. (D.I. 418 [hereinafter "Tr."]).

I. BACKGROUND

On January 2, 2013, InterDigital Communications, Inc., InterDigital Technology

Corporation, IPR Licensing, Inc., and InterDigital Holdings, Inc. ("Plaintiffs") filed four patent

infringement actions. (C.A. 13-8-RGA D.I. 1; C.A. 13-9-RGA D.I. 1; C.A. 13-10-RGA D.I. 1;

C.A. 13-11-RGA D.I. 1). 1 The two actions relevant to this opinion are against ZTE Corporation

and ZTE (USA) Inc. (collectively, "ZTE") (C.A. 13-9-RGA) and Nokia Corporation, Nokia,

Inc., and Microsoft Mobile Oy (collectively, "Nokia") (C.A. 13-10-RGA).2

The Court held a six-day jury trial for the ZTE action on October 21, 2014 through

October 27, 2014. InterDigital alleged that ZTE infringed U.S. Patent Nos. 7,190,966,

7,286,84 7, the '244 patent, and the '151 patent. The Court declared a mistrial as to the '151

patent on October 22, 2014. (D.I. 444 at 680). The jury found all asserted claims of the

remaining patents valid and infringed. (D.I. 450).

Following the ZTE trial, Nokia moved for leave to file additional claim construction

briefs regarding certain terms in the '244 patent. (DJ. 375). The Court granted the motion in

part. (D.I. 396). The Court gave Nokia leave to make additional arguments for two terms in the

1 Citations to D.I. 485, D.I. 486, and DJ. 488 are to the C.A. 13-9-RGA docket. All other docket citations are to

C.A. 13-10-RGA. 2 With respect to the '244 patent, "Defendants" refers to Nokia. With respect to the '15 I patent, "Defendants" refers to Nokia and ZTE.

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'244 patent. {D.l. 396). The Court heard claim construction arguments for the '244 patent at the

Markman hearing originally scheduled for the '151 patent.

II. LEGALSTANDARD

"It is a bedrock principle of patent law that the claims of a patent define the invention to

which the patentee is entitled the right to exclude." Phillips v. A WH Corp., 415 F.3d 1303, 1312

{Fed. Cir. 2005) {en bane) (internal quotation marks omitted). "'[T]here is no magic formula or

catechism for conducting claim construction.' Instead, the court is free to attach the appropriate

weight to appropriate sources 'in light of the statutes and policies that inform patent law."'

Soft View LLC v. Apple Inc., 2013 WL 4758195, at *1 (D. Del. Sept. 4, 2013) (quoting Phillips,

415 F.3d at 1324). When construing patent claims, a court considers the literal language of the

claim, the patent specification, and the prosecution history. Markman v. Westview Instruments,

Inc., 52 F.3d 967, 977-80 (Fed. Cir. 1995) (en bane), aff'd, 517 U.S. 370 (1996). Of these

sources, "the specification is always highly relevant to the claim construction analysis. Usually,

it is dispositive; it is the single best guide to the meaning of a disputed term." Phillips, 415 F.3d

at 1315 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).

"[T]he words of a claim are generally given their ordinary and customary meaning ....

[Which is] the meaning that the term would have to a person of ordinary skill in the art in

question at the time of the invention, i.e., as of the effective filing date of the patent application."

Id. at 1312-13 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). "[T]he ordinary meaning of a

claim term is its meaning to [an] ordinary artisan after reading the entire patent." Id. at 1321

(internal quotation marks omitted). "In some cases, the ordinary meaning of claim language as

understood by a person of skill in the art may be readily apparent even to lay judges, and claim

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construction in such cases involves little more than the application of the widely accepted

meaning of commonly understood words." Id. at 1314 (internal citations omitted).

When a court relies solely upon the intrinsic evidence-the patent claims, the

specification, and the prosecution history-the court's construction is a determination oflaw.

See TevaPharm. USA, Inc. v. Sandoz, Inc., 135 S. Ct. 831, 841 (2015). The court may also

make factual findings based upon consideration of extrinsic evidence, which "consists of all

evidence external to the patent and prosecution history, including expert and inventor testimony,

dictionaries, and learned treatises." Phillips, 415 F.3d at 1317-19 (internal quotation marks and

citations omitted). Extrinsic evidence may assist the court in understanding the underlying

technology, the meaning of terms to one skilled in the art, and how the invention works. Id.

Extrinsic evidence, however, is less reliable and less useful in claim construction than the patent

and its prosecution history. Id.

"A claim construction is persuasive, not because it follows a certain rule, but because it

defines terms in the context of the whole patent." Renishaw PLC v. Marposs Societa 'per

Azioni, 158 F.3d 1243, 1250 (Fed. Cir. 1998). It follows that "a claim interpretation that would

exclude the inventor's device is rarely the correct interpretation." Osram GmbH v. Int 'l Trade

Comm 'n, 505 F.3d 1351, 1358 (Fed. Cir. 2007) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

III. CONSTRUCTION OF DISPUTED TERMS

A. The '244 Patent

Claim 1 of the '244 patent is representative and reads:

A subscriber unit comprising:

a cellular transceiver configured to communicate with a cellular wireless network via a plurality of assigned physical channels;

an IEEE 802.11 transceiver configured to communicate with an IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network; and

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a processor configured to maintain a communication session with the cellular wireless network in an absence of the plurality of assigned physical channels while the IEEE 802.11 transceiver communicates packet data with the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network.

(emphasis added).

1. "maintain a communication session with the cellular wireless network"

a. Plaintiffs' proposed construction: No construction necessary. If construed, "maintain a [horizontal] logical connection with the cellular wireless network."

b. Defendants' proposed construction: maintain a connection between two layers of the subscriber unit's cellular protocol stack above the physical layer

c. Court's construction: maintain a horizontal logical connection with the cellular wireless network

The Court previously construed "maintain a communication session with the cellular

wireless network in an absence of the plurality of assigned physical channels" as "maintain a

logical connection with the cellular wireless network when none of the plurality of assigned

physical channels are in use by the subscriber unit." (D.I. 219 at p. 12). The key dispute with

respect to this term is whether the connection is a horizontal connection between a protocol layer

of a subscriber unit and a peer protocol layer of a wireless network or a vertical connection

between layers of a protocol stack within the subscriber unit.

Plaintiffs argue that the term "logical connection" is well understood and does not require

construction. (D.I. 407 at 9). The Court does not agree and will therefore construe the term.

Plaintiffs argue that, if construed, the term should be construed to clarify that the connection is

horizontal. (Id. at 10). They maintain that the surrounding claim language mandates this

construction, as it requires a connection "with the cellular wireless network," and therefore

cannot be a connection within the subscriber unit alone. (Id. at 11 (emphasis in original)).

Plaintiffs further argue that the specification supports a horizontal connection. (Id. at 14). They

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note that the specification teaches "'establishing a logical connection using a higher layer

protocol, such as the network layer protocol, from a subscriber unit, such as may be connected to

a portable computer node, to an intended peer node .... " (Id. (quoting '244 patent, col. 4, 11. 6-

9)). Plaintiffs also argue that the prosecution history supports their construction. (Id. at 15).

Defendants argue that maintaining a communication session is limited to spoofing; in

other words, tricking higher layers of a protocol stack into thinking there is a physical connection

between the subscriber unit and the cellular network when there is not. They note that the

specification states that "certain physical layer connections may expect to receive a continuous

stream of synchronous data bits" even in the absence of a physical connection. (Id. (quoting

'244 patent, col. 6, 11. 34-35)). This is achieved by looping back data bits to spoof the equipment

into thinking that a physical connection has been maintained. (Id.) Defendants argue that these

looped data bits sent over a vertical connection between two layers of the subscriber unit's

protocol stack maintain the communication session. (Id. at 20).

Defendants further argue that the communication session is not a logical connection. (Id.

at 22). Therefore, Plaintiffs' argument that the claim language supports Plaintiffs' construction

is unfounded. (Id.). Defendants argue that the specification does not teach maintaining a logical

connection in the absence of a physical connection. (Id. at 21 ). Rather, it describes maintaining

the appearance of a logical connection. (Id.).

Defendants also argue that the prosecution history supports their construction. (Id. at 23).

They note that the examiner originally rejected the relevant claim because the specification failed

to enable "maintaining a communication session, above a physical layer, in the absence of

assigned physical channels." (Id. at 23 (quoting D.I. 410, Ex. Q at p. 8)). The applicants

responded by stating that "the communication session may be maintained via the logical

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connection (for example, a higher layer protocol) even as one or more of the physical wireless

channels are released." (D.I. 410, Ex. Q at p. 9). In support of this argument, the applicants

pointed to portions of the application that discuss the use of spoofing. (Id.) The examiner

responded to this argument in the Final Office Action by stating:

The Examiner notes that Applicants have defined "a processor configured to maintain a communication session, with the first wireless network in the absence of the plurality of assigned physical layer channels while communicating packet data with the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network via the second transceiver." For example, Applicants generally point to paragraphs 0023 and 0078 (see paper dated 1/28/2011 at page 9[),] which basically indicates some sort of spoofing (i.e. spoof the terminal into believing that a sufficient wide wireless communication link is continuously available).

(Id., Ex U at pp. 11-12).

The Court finds that the claim language and specification support Plaintiffs' proposed

construction.3 The Court previously construed "communication session" in this context to mean

"logical connection." (D.I. 219 at p. 12). The surrounding claim language therefore compels the

conclusion that the connection is between the subscriber unit and the cellular wireless network.

A connection within the subscriber unit itself cannot be a connection "with the cellular wireless

network." In addition, the specification describes a logical connection as a connection between

peer nodes at the network layer. ('244 patent, col. 4, 11. 5-18).

The Court does not agree that the prosecution history limited the claim as Defendants

suggest. Defendants made the same argument at the original claim construction proceeding. My

response now is the same: "The examiner's statement provides only a possible example for the

definition of the disputed phrase. This is not sufficient to put the inventor on notice that the

invention had been limited to only spoofing, nor is it specific enough to restrict the claim." (D.1.

219 at pp. 13-14).

3 In reaching this conclusion, the Court does not rely on the definitions proposed in the parallel IPR proceeding.

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2. "assigned physical channels"

a. Plaintiffs ·proposed construction: channels available for the subscriber unit to select for use

b. Defendants· proposed construction: physical channels available for the subscriber unit to use

c. Court's construction: channels available for the subscriber unit to select a subset for use

The Court previously construed "assigned physical channels" as "physical channels

available for the subscriber unit to select for use." (D.I. 219 at p. 14). Defendants proposed the

construction the Court adopted. (Id.). Defendants now argue that the construction is confusing.

(D.I. 407 at 44). Defendants maintain that the confusing construction opened the door for

Plaintiffs' expert, Dr. Cooklev, to make claim construction arguments to the jury at the ZTE trial.

(Id. at 42-43). They note that Dr. Cooklev redefined the claim by testifying that "select for use"

means selecting some but not all channels. (Id. at 42). ZTE objected to Dr. Cooklev arguing

claim construction-an issue of law-to the jury. (Id.). The Court sustained the objection and

struck the testimony.4 (Id.). Defendants argue that Plaintiffs' proposed construction is just as

objectionable now as it was when Dr. Cooklev argued it to the jury. (Id. at 45). Defendants

propose removing "select for" in order to simplify the construction. (Id. at 44). They contend

that such an alteration would have no effect on the meaning. (Id.). Defendants also maintain

that the specification does not require that the subscriber unit select a subset of channels from a

larger set. (Id. at 46).

Defendants further request that the Court re-construe the claim language surrounding

"assigned physical channels." (Id. at 43-44). The Court construed "maintain a communication

4 Counsel should advise their experts that giving testimony about what a claim construction "means" is improper. Counsel should be aware that if this happens again, I will give due consideration to the possibility of sanctions.

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session with the cellular wireless network in an absence of the plurality of assigned physical

channels" as "maintain a logical connection with the wireless network when none of the plurality

of [physical channels available for the subscriber unit to select for use] are in use by the

subscriber unit." (D.l. 219 at p. 12). Defendants propose that "when none of ... are in use" be

replaced with the original claim language, "in an absence of." (D.I. 407 at 44). They argue that

"absence" is an ordinary word any juror would understand, and reverting to the claim language

would simplify the construction. (Id.).

Plaintiffs argue that Defendants should not be allowed to argue for a new construction

when the Court adopted the construction Defendants proposed. (Id. at 38). Plaintiffs further

argue that Defendants' new construction would eliminate the requirement that the subscriber unit

select the channels, as it would permit the network to dictate the selection. (Id. at 39). Plaintiffs

note that in the IPR proceeding, Plaintiffs expressly disclaimed systems in which the subscriber

unit does not select the channels for use. (Id. at 46).

Plaintiffs also argue that the subscriber unit selects a subset of available channels. (Id. at

40). They note that the specification describes a bandwidth management function that allocates

and deallocates radio channels "as required." (Id. at 39). The specification also states that the

"bandwidth management function may make only a certain number of channels 30 available at

any time. A subset of the available channels 30 is selected."5 (Id. at 40 (quoting '244 patent,

col. 7, 11. 24-27)). Plaintiffs also note that Defendants argued that "a subset of those available

channels are selected for use" in the original claim construction briefing. (Id. at 40 (quoting D.l.

122 at 85)).

5 Defendants argue that this language is not in the section describing Figure 6, to which Plaintiffs limited the invention during the IPR. (D.1. 407 at 49 n.8). However, the description of Figure 6 includes the "bandwidth management 134 as described earlier." ('244 patent, col. 9, 11. 38-39). The quoted language is an earlier description of the bandwidth management function.

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The Court agrees that Defendants' construction would eliminate the requirement that the

subscriber unit, and not the network, select channels for use. The specification describes a

subscriber unit "of the present invention" which selects channels for use. For example, it

describes the subscriber unit's bandwidth management function "dynamically assigning" radio

channels. ('244 patent, col. 10, 1. 1 ). It also notes that the bandwidth management function

deallocates channels when no data is present. ('244 patent, col. 10, 11. 34-43). Plaintiffs

confirmed in the IPR that they disavowed any embodiments where the subscriber unit did not

select the channels for use. (D.I. 410, Ex. V at p. 15).

The Court finds that the subscriber unit must select a subset of available channels. As

noted above, this requirement is found in the description to which Plaintiffs limited the

invention. ('244 patent, col. 7, 11. 24-27). Plaintiff limited the invention to Figure 6, a subscriber

unit "of the present invention." (D.I. 410, Ex.Vat pp. 14-15). The description of Figure 6

includes the "bandwidth management 134 as described earlier." ('244 patent, col. 9, 11. 38-39).

The earlier description of the bandwidth management function states that "[a] subset of the

available channels 30 is selected .... "

In addition, Defendants in the original claim construction proceeding argued that a subset

of channels must be selected. The specification explains that the bandwidth management

function is responsible for allocating and deallocating channels as required. ('244 patent, col. 9,

11. 64-66). Defendants urged that "allocated" means that "a subset of those available channels is

selected for use." (D.I. 122 at 85). Defendants' argument that this interpretation is

objectionable because the Court struck Dr. Cooklev's testimony at the ZTE trial misunderstands

the Court's ruling. The testimony was improper because Dr. Cooklev was arguing a question of

law to the jury. It was not that the substance of the argument was necessarily objectionable, it

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was that the argument was being made at all. The Court finds that the subscriber unit must select

a subset of channels for use, but neither proposed construction captures that requirement. The

Court will therefore define "assigned physical channels" as "channels available for the subscriber

unit to select a subset for use."

The Court will not further construe the claim language surrounding "assigned physical

channels" for two reasons. First, Defendants moved for additional claim construction on three

specific terms, including "assigned physical channels." (D.1. 385). The Court granted the

motion in part, but did not give leave to argue additional claim construction for other terms.

(D.I. 396). Defendants' request to re-construe terms that the Court did not give leave to argue is

procedurally improper.

Second, the Court does not agree that the "when none of the ... are in use" language is

"very complex." (See DJ. 407 at 44). While it is true that "absence" is not a term of art, it has a

specific meaning within the context of the claim. "Absence" in general usage means "[t]he state

of being absent or away from a place."6 The claims do not contemplate that the channels go

away. One of the purposes of maintaining a logical connection is to eliminate "the overhead

associated with having to set up an end to end connection each time that data needs to be

transferred." ('244 patent, col. 4, 11. 20-22). In other words, the purpose is to make it possible to

more efficiently reestablish a physical connection that had previously been dropped. If

"absence" meant that the channels were gone entirely, the subscriber unit could not reconnect.

The Court will therefore not re-construe the "when none of the ... are in use" language.

B. The '151 Patent

Claim 1 of the '151 patent is representative and reads:

6 "absence, n." OED ONLINE, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/645 (last visited March 02, 2015).

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A method for utilizing channel assignment information for an uplink shared channel or a downlink shared channel, the method comprising:

a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) receiving downlink control information including downlink or uplink channel assignment information via a same physical downlink control channel, both downlink channel assignment information and uplink channel assignment information being received via the same physical downlink control channel;

the WTRU determining whether the downlink control information is intended for the WTRU based on WTRU identity (ID)-masked cyclic redundancy check (CRC) parity bits, and if so determining whether the channel assignment information is for assigning radio resources for the uplink shared channel or the downlink shared channel; and

the WTRU utilizing the radio resources for the uplink shared channel or the downlink shared channel.

(emphasis added).

1. "a same physical downlink control channel"

a. Plaintiffs' proposed construction: at least one same physical downlink control channel

b. Defendants 'proposed construction: one particular same physical downlink control channel

c. Court's construction: one physical downlink control channel

2. "both downlink channel assignment information and uplink channel assignment information being received via the same physical downlink control channel"

a. Plaintiffs' proposed construction: both downlink channel assignment information and uplink channel assignment information will be received via the at least one same physical downlink control channel

b. Defendants' proposed construction: the WTRU receiving both downlink channel assignment information and uplink channel assignment information via that particular same physical downlink control channel

c. Court's construction: both downlink channel assignment information and uplink channel assignment information being received via the one physical downlink control channel

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The claim construction issues with respect to these terms are the same, and the parties

argued them together, so the Court will address them together. The parties argue past each other

on several issues, but ultimately appear to agree that there can be multiple control channels and

that only one is used each time the claimed method is performed. (Tr. 112, 114-15). The dispute

boils down to whether each control channel needs to carry both downlink channel assignment

information and uplink channel assignment information.

Defendants argue that the claim requires that each channel carry both uplink and

downlink channel assignment information. (D.L 485 at 18). Defendants argue that the claim

language makes clear that "both" types of information must be received by the "same" channel.

(Id. at 19). Defendants also argue that the prosecution history supports their construction. (Id. at

21 ). Applicants added "via the same physical downlink control channel" to overcome a prior art

rejection. (Id. at 22). The examiner allowed the amended claim in part because "[t]he prior arts

fail to disclose the control data for allocating the uplink resource and the control data for

allocating the downlink resource are transmitted via the same physical downlink control channel

.... " (D.I. 486, Ex.Hat 80). Defendants note that in the ITC, Plaintiffs argued that "whenever

downlink CAI [channel assignment information] is received or uplink CAI is received, both must

be received on the same physical downlink control channel." (D.I. 485 at 24 (quoting D.I. 488,

Ex. M at 10)).

Plaintiffs argue that the control channel carries both downlink assignment information

and uplink assignment information over time, but need only carry one or the other each time the

claimed method step is performed. (Id. at 30). Plaintiffs argue that a "channel" is a "radio

resource," and that a radio resource carries both uplink assignment information and downlink

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assignment information over time. 7 (Tr. at 113). The parties agreed to adopt the Court's

previous construction of "same physical downlink control channel" as "channel used only for

transfer of downlink control information that occupies a same radio resource." (D.I. 485 at 12).

Plaintiffs' understanding appears to be that the Court's construction of "same ... channel" is that

"[i]t occupies a same radio resource." (Tr. at 135). Therefore, "there can be more than one such

channel that occupies a same radio resource." (Id.). Plaintiffs argue that multiple channels travel

over the radio resource, each of which need only contain uplink assignment information or

downlink assignment information. (Id. at 136).

In light of these arguments and for the sake of clarity, the Court finds it necessary to

revise its previous construction of "same physical downlink control channel." The revised

construction is "channel used only for transfer of downlink control information and which

occupies one radio resource." The Court notes that a channel occupies a radio resource, but it is

not itself a radio resource.

With respect to the terms at issue, the Court finds that the claim language and prosecution

history support a construction requiring the control channel to carry both uplink channel

assignment information and downlink channel assignment information. Neither proposed

construction captures that requirement or provides guidance to the jury about the crux of the

dispute. The Court will therefore define "a same physical downlink control channel" as "one

physical downlink control channel."8 The Court will define "both downlink channel assignment

information and uplink channel assignment information being received via the same physical

7 The Court notes that this position is similar to the construction the Court rejected in the original Markman, "a radio resource used to transmit uplink and/or downlink channel assignment information." (See D.I. 122 at 51). 8 The Court has considered the argument that "a" normally means "one or more." (0.1. 485 at 13). It seems to me that what is really being construed is "a same," not "a."

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downlink control channel" as "both downlink channel assignment information and uplink

channel assignment information being received via the one physical downlink control channel."

IV. CONCLUSION

Within five days the parties shall submit a proposed order consistent with this

Memorandum Opinion suitable for submission to the jury.

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